WINCHESTER 7 & THE RUNNERS - Heart Of The Golden Mystics - ALBUM REVIEW
Updated: Jan 7
WINCHESTER 7 & THE RUNNERS
Heart Of The Golden Mystics
Atlanta, United States
Self-described International alternatives known as Winchester 7 & the Runners have been pinpointed for their magnificent songwriting and unique flair for fusing the ends of rock and electric ukulele.
Now back with their album release ‘Heart Of The Golden Mystics’ the band aim to take on genre boundaries and shoot them through the barrel of eight (tracks).
‘The Saint Simon Killer Returns’, opens its attack by hitting the target in one through its indie rock classics – The Clash meets The Kooks here through deep Britpop tones and distorted heavily revered Ukulele strums and vocals. An air of the 80s also shines through here in mixing techniques.
‘Her Double Life’ has a cleaner tone of instrumentation, away from the underground rock scene of ‘The Saint Simon Killer Returns’ but keeps to the same 80s psychedelic and reverbed vocal effects. I think that the vocals could have been lifted slightly louder as they’re a little too distant in the mix, nevertheless, the storytelling is still captured and executed for listeners to grasp.
‘Married for the Money’ has an old-school rock and roll blues feel to it. The riffs – basslines are funky and the lead solos come into effect to add a layer of electricity to a production that is carried by its consistent drumming arrangement. This is definitely a song that I would listen to again and would enjoy live!
‘The Sum of Our Mistakes’ continues to offer up a la carte riffs hot and ready for consumption. It doesn’t stop, and the effects, don’t stop – where do all of these riffs come from? Pack them up and send them over! I think that the contrasts in effects and arrangements work great here – it’s barely noticeable but it doesn’t half make a difference!
‘Miss Merry’s Memoriam’ goes back to the sound of the early days of The Kooks – A nice little slow storytelling experience where strums work in sync with the vocal melodies in several places to add a little bit of familiarity for listeners to grab onto.
‘Your House Of Cards’ – YES. Blues riffs keep em coming. If you don’t want to pick up an electric Ukulele after hearing this one, I don’t think that you are in fact a human. Just saying. Big energy, nice rhythms and consistency throughout. A solo in the first third of the track? Unusual but freaking awesome!
‘Things Would Never Be The Same’ comes to prepare listeners for the end of the project but firstly let’s go through even more riffs! Listeners, you are being spoilt here! You can’t leave before the desert, so don’t leave without listening to the full EP!
But before we settle up, there’s one last bonus track for you all to enjoy in the form of ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ – This is a completely different vibe altogether in the form of a cover! I had to check that I was listening to the same album! Synth rock makes its way – Think of The Killers hit ‘When You Were Young– What a way to end this project! Could this be a hint of what’s to come next from the Winchester 7 & the Runners? We will see!
LINKS
https://www.winchester7andtherunners.com
https://www.facebook.com/winchester7andtherunners
https://twitter.com/RealWinchester7
https://open.spotify.com/artist/15Mzrd47XdRknfsKLFIMci
https://soundcloud.com/user-952902135
https://winchester7therunners.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/winchester7andtherunners
https://www.instagram.com/winchester7andtherunners/